Work life balance in the USA

What didn’t you like about NZ? First person I’ve seen say they didn’t like it

I was in NZ before i ended up in Oz. like vauxie has said it can be a bit dull, especially outside of the major towns/cities. it would be a cracking place to retire to though (imho), or if you want a quieter life. also plenty of opportunity for those who like the outdoors and any type of activity or adventure sports.
it also has the same problems every where else has ie: drugs, crime, gangs etc and there is a fair bit of tension between Maori, Pakeha and Isladers particularly when folks are pissed up. generally have a lot of time for kiwis though, they seem to have a decent attitude towards life.
 


Its not a case of the grass is greener for me, there are many things about the US I'd admire about the country, very diverse, immigrants from all over the globe, fantastic scenery, good weather, very good wages (a good bit higher than the UK for most jobs), I'm big fan of American sports and like America as a country in general.
I'm sure you're aware it's a reet pain to get in there? Have you got transferable skills that they'd have you? Love visiting America and I once had the chance to work in there in Virginia for a bit and kinda regret not taking it... Holidaying there and working there are different animals like.... However any developed country in the world where civilians can prance around the streets with assault rifles is fooked up tbf!
 
Youngest son been working and living in USA for 20 off yrs.Worked on the cruise shops out of Miami /fort Lauderdale for a while till he met up and married a yank ,went across for the wedding ,felt totally out of depth as the us future in-laws were mega loaded .Glad they didn't ask me to contribute towards it as if have declared myself bankrupt.That marriage didn't last long .He moved out to a cowboy town north of Denver and married a lass from there.Went over for the second wedding .Real eye opener ,no bloody pubs .bonus was 29 casino's which we did 21 of them as the beer was free.He is now a Yankee citizen ,to old to be conscripted and loving living across the pond.only draw backs is health insurance and holidays ,first is a must and second is at the bosses discretion.Also a need to be able to drive is a must for pubs out in the sticks are few and far between.
Isn’t food, beer and eating out dirt cheap over there?
It is ,that's why you see hundreds and hundreds of fat yanks .
I used to love visiting the US in the early 2000s when it was over $1.90 to the pound. I''d take an empty suitcase to go clothes shopping and you could eat in top end restaurants for next to nothing. These days the exchange rate hurts.

Don't forget to add in tips on top of food and drink prices. In a restaurant, 20% is considered normal and around $1 to $1.50 for each beer. Don't try the ignorant tourist game of not tipping. You might get away with it once but you'll never get served again. Tipping culture is always a case of When in Rome... Bar and restaurant staff are on a very low minimum wage (sometimes only $2 per hour) so tips are part of the deal. It also means that customer service standards in the US are usually far better than in the UK.
Son and daughter in law earn more in a week off tips than I earn per week.Biggest night for tips for them was when Trump got elected well over $4.000 for one night dealing cards and working the blackjack tables.
 
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I'm sure you're aware it's a reet pain to get in there? Have you got transferable skills that they'd have you? Love visiting America and I once had the chance to work in there in Virginia for a bit and kinda regret not taking it... Holidaying there and working there are different animals like.... However any developed country in the world where civilians can prance around the streets with assault rifles is fooked up tbf!
That's the other thing. For a country built on immigrants its ironic how hard it is to get into. Took me a good 5 year.
 
Best place in the world for a holiday but i just couldn't live with the yanks, they're just bat shit mental. There'll be a civil war there soon unless Donald finally admits defeat, but he's just doing what winners do.... hide.
 
lived and worked in colorado and north dakota. colorado, had 20 day paid holiday although i had to negotiate them. burned loads of them with time off due to an accident - there's no sick cover, (in CO right now you can "earn" one hour sick leave for every 30 worked up to 48 hours a year so its pretty much one of the most progressive states, with the obvious accusations of marxism). north dakota iirc none - you could "buy" days back it worked out you would work more than 2 days to earn enough to buy a days holiday, noone ever took time off anyway and it would be "noticed" if you tried to get away with working just 7.5 hours a day.

its a great place to visit, its an awesome place to be rich but for everyone else its a daily and endless grind of work to get what you need and hope like hell no-one gets an uncovered illness or your house burns down because if either happens you get to start all over again at -$750,000.
 
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That's the other thing. For a country built on immigrants its ironic how hard it is to get into. Took me a good 5 year.
Great stuff that you got there in the end... Are you in NYC or somewhere else in the state? It is very difficult to qualify for residency iirc.
Like I say once I really wanted to move there but the older I got, I realised there lots of positives to uk living. Been all over visiting, done 14 States thus far, I love the place .. I flew back from a months holiday in Seattle a couple of years back and the day I went back to work they asked me if I'd do 3-6month in 🇺🇸. A tiny Regret not doing it but touring washington state with the Mrs for a month, would be more favourable than living in a Rodeway inn on my own off an interstate in Virginia, so I declined it.
 
I never knew this about over there. I assumed it was the same if not better when you see them all having bbqs etc. But then again you never hear anyone on films talk about putting holidays/leave in. They all seem to holiday in their own country as well dont they? Which i guess is not a bad thing with the variety of places over there
Great stuff that you got there in the end... Are you in NYC or somewhere else in the state? It is very difficult to qualify for residency iirc.
Like I say once I really wanted to move there but the older I got, I realised there lots of positives to uk living. Been all over visiting, done 14 States thus far, I love the place .. I flew back from a months holiday in Seattle a couple of years back and the day I went back to work they asked me if I'd do 3-6month in 🇺🇸. A tiny Regret not doing it but touring washington state with the Mrs for a month, would be more favourable than living in a Rodeway inn on my own off an interstate in Virginia, so I declined it.

Whats your fave state? Me and the mrs will do the 66 sometime in our lives, probably when we're older but one place that looks stunning but you never hear of is Montana. Think its from play too much farcry i now really want to go there
 
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I never knew this about over there. I assumed it was the same if not better when you see them all having bbqs etc. But then again you never hear anyone on films talk about putting holidays/leave in. They all seem to holiday in their own country as well dont they? Which i guess is not a bad thing with the variety of places over there


Whats your fave state? Me and the mrs will do the 66 sometime in our lives, probably when we're older but one place that looks stunning but you never hear of is Montana. Think its from play too much farcry i now really want to go there
been to montana ( big sky state ) , did glacier national park- tremendous . stayed in place called whitefish . recommended. if got time/leave could chuck in yellowstone too.
 
I worked in New York from 2000 to 2001 fresh out of Uni, and I only got 10 days leave. It was pro rate, so in my first year I basically accrued 0.8 of a day each month, I couldn’t take a week off until I’d been there nearly 7 months.

Weirdly, I cashed in a few days in at the end of my first year as I just got used to having no time off. I was offered a promotion to relocate full time in 2002 but refused due to work life balance.

My first proper job back in the UK gave me 35 days. I didn’t know what to do with them
 
Teachers do OK in the US as they have the whole of the summer off and the US has one of the shortest academic years in the world. Other jobs not so much.

On one side you have high pay, low taxes and usually lower living costs.

On the other side, high healthcare costs, long hours and almost no job protection.
I know a few teachers and they have it far from good. Most have to work two jobs just to keep up and they have to buy the supplies they need to teach. ONe of the reasons the US education system is so poor is that they cant attract enough quality people. You have to be VERY dedicated to be s teacher in the the US
 
I know a few teachers and they have it far from good. Most have to work two jobs just to keep up and they have to buy the supplies they need to teach. ONe of the reasons the US education system is so poor is that they cant attract enough quality people. You have to be VERY dedicated to be s teacher in the the US
Sounds similar to here!
 
I'm sure you're aware it's a reet pain to get in there? Have you got transferable skills that they'd have you? Love visiting America and I once had the chance to work in there in Virginia for a bit and kinda regret not taking it... Holidaying there and working there are different animals like.... However any developed country in the world where civilians can prance around the streets with assault rifles is fooked up tbf!

Was that with the Siemens semiconductor factory?
 
Great stuff that you got there in the end... Are you in NYC or somewhere else in the state? It is very difficult to qualify for residency iirc.
Like I say once I really wanted to move there but the older I got, I realised there lots of positives to uk living. Been all over visiting, done 14 States thus far, I love the place .. I flew back from a months holiday in Seattle a couple of years back and the day I went back to work they asked me if I'd do 3-6month in 🇺🇸. A tiny Regret not doing it but touring washington state with the Mrs for a month, would be more favourable than living in a Rodeway inn on my own off an interstate in Virginia, so I declined it.
Big bad NYC.

It's funny I've spent the year in lockdown so I've barely had chance to f***ing explore haha. I think it's difficult, and there's a little bit of me admiring the green grass across the road. The UK is blessed to have good healthcare, no guns, but I also know there's fuck all opportunities for me in the NE. New York has them opportunities, but as I've said it also has guns, a lack of safety and no work life balance. I can see why people stay here for life because the quality of living when you do go out (shows, etc) is impressive, big city living is great if you have money.
 
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I never knew this about over there. I assumed it was the same if not better when you see them all having bbqs etc. But then again you never hear anyone on films talk about putting holidays/leave in. They all seem to holiday in their own country as well dont they? Which i guess is not a bad thing with the variety of places over there


Whats your fave state? Me and the mrs will do the 66 sometime in our lives, probably when we're older but one place that looks stunning but you never hear of is Montana. Think its from play too much farcry i now really want to go there
Fave state has got to be California... It is like a country in its own right... Its got everything like.
 
Big bad NYC.

It's funny I've spent the year in lockdown so I've barely had chance to f***ing explore haha. I think it's difficult, and there's a little bit of me admiring the green grass across the road. The UK is blessed to have good healthcare, no guns, but I also know there's fuck all opportunities for me in the NE. New York has them opportunities, but as I've said it also has guns, a lack of safety and no work life balance. I can see why people stay here for life because the quality of living when you do go out (shows, etc) is impressive, big city living is great if you have money.
I agree. I did it on an expat package for four years (so full healthcare, UK holidays and rent paid) and it was f***ing mint. But I wouldn’t raise my kids there.

Saying that we have friends who live in a ski resort in Colorado. He works for a UK company on US terms, but gets to start early, go skiing or biking at lunchtime and then back on calls in the PM. They have a massive house and moose and bears in their garden.

On the flip side, their five year old has to regularly practise silently hiding under the table at school in case someone comes in with an AK47.
 

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